# On the Divination of Demons - Author: [Augustine of Hippo](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/augustine-of-hippo/) - Latin title: *De diuinatione daemonum* - Date: ca. 406–411 (disputed) - Source: Joseph Zycha, ed., Sancti Aureli Augustini opera, sect. VI, pars 2, CSEL 41 (Vienna: Tempsky; Leipzig: Freytag, 1900) (Latin text: Zycha, De diuinatione daemonum (CSEL 41), digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/ - Passages: 14 ## On the Divination of Demons 1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-1 - Source: CSEL 41:599 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine explains that the work records a discussion with Christian laymen about whether a demon's prediction of the fall of the Serapeum at Alexandria proves anything. ### Latin text Quodam die in diebus sanctis octauarum, cum mane apud me fuissent multi fratres laici christiani et in loco solito consedissemus, ortus est sermo de religione christiana aduersus praesumptionem et tamquam miram et magnam scientiam paganorum: quem recordatum atque conpletum litteris mandandum putaui non expressis personis contradicentium, quamuis christiani essent et magis contradicendo quaerere uiderentur, quid paganis responderi oporteret. cum ergo de diuinatione daemonum quaereretur et affirmaretur praedixisse nescio quem euersionem templi Serapis, quae in Alexandria facta est, respondi non esse mirandum, si istam euersionem templis et simulacris suis inminere daemones et scire et praedicere potuerunt sicut alia multa, quantum eis nosse et praenuntiare permittitur. ### English translation (Claude) One day during the holy days of the octave, when many brothers, Christian laymen, had been with me in the morning and we had sat down in the usual place, a conversation arose about the Christian religion against the presumption of the pagans and their supposedly wonderful and great knowledge. When I had recalled it and completed it, I thought it should be committed to writing, without naming the persons who raised objections, although they were Christians and seemed by their objections rather to be asking what answer ought to be given to the pagans. So when the question was raised about the divination of demons, and it was asserted that someone or other had foretold the overthrow of the temple of Serapis that took place at Alexandria, I answered that it was no wonder if the demons were able both to know and to foretell that this overthrow was hanging over their temples and images, as they know and foretell many other things, so far as they are permitted to know and announce them beforehand. ### Translation notes - The temple of Serapis (the Serapeum) at Alexandria was destroyed in 391. 'The octave' is presumably the week after Easter. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 1 (CSEL 41:599; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-1). ## On the Divination of Demons 2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-2 - Source: CSEL 41:599–600 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God's permitting something does not make it just, as his permission of murder and adultery shows. ### Latin text Et cum mihi referretur: non ergo sunt malae diuinationes huius modi nec deo displicent — alioquin omnipotens et iustus ista fieri non permitteret, si mala et iniusta essent — respondi non ideo haec uideri iusta debere, quod ea fieri permittit omnipotentissimus et iustissimus deus; nam et alia multa manifestissime iniuste fieri, sicut homicidia, adulteria, furta, rapinas et cetera huius modi: quae quamuis iusto deo eo quod iniusta sint sine dubitatione displiceant, idem tamen omnipotens ea fieri certa iudicii sui ratione permittit non utique inpune, sed ad eorum damnationem, a quibus fiunt quae displicent iusto. ### English translation (Claude) And when it was put to me, 'Then divinations of this kind are not evil, and they do not displease God; otherwise, being almighty and just, he would not permit them to happen if they were evil and unjust,' I answered that these things ought not to be thought just on the ground that the most almighty and most just God permits them to happen; for many other things too are done most manifestly unjustly, such as murders, adulteries, thefts, robberies, and the like. Although these without doubt displease the just God because they are unjust, yet the same almighty God permits them to happen by the sure reason of his judgment, not of course with impunity, but to the condemnation of those who do what displeases the just God. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 2 (CSEL 41:599–600; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-2). ## On the Divination of Demons 3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-3 - Source: CSEL 41:600–601 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If God's permission once proved the pagan rites pleasing to him, his permitting their overthrow now proves them displeasing. ### Latin text Et cum e contrario diceretur non quidem esse dubitandum, quod omnipotens et iustus sit deus, sed haec humana peccata, quae contra societatem hominum fierent, non eum curare, dum fierent — propterea posse fieri: quae utique fieri non possent, si omnipotens non siuisset; illa uero, quae ad ipsum religionis cultum pertineant, nullo modo ab eo credendum esse contemni. ac per hoc fieri non potuisse, nisi ei placuissent. et ideo mala ea putari non oportere — ad hoc quoque respondi: nunc ergo ei displicent, cum templa et simulacra euertuntur et illa gentium sacrificia, si facta fuerint, puniuntur. sicut enim dicitur non ea fieri potuisse, nisi deo placuissent, et ideo bona putanda, quoniam iusto placent, ita dici potest non ea prohiberi, euerti, puniri potuisse, nisi deo displicerent; ac per hoc si tunc ideo recte fiebant, quia iusto deo placere hinc ostendebantur, quod ab illo fieri sinebantur, ideo nunc inique fiunt, quia deo displicere hinc ostenduntur, quod ea uel iubet uel permittit euerti. ### English translation (Claude) And when it was said on the other side that there was indeed no doubt that God is almighty and just, but that he does not concern himself with these human sins committed against human society while they are being done, and that this is why they can happen (though they certainly could not happen unless the Almighty had allowed them); whereas those things that belong to the very worship of religion must in no way be believed to be disregarded by him, and so they could not have happened unless they had pleased him, and therefore they ought not to be thought evil: to this too I answered, 'Then they displease him now, when the temples and images are overthrown and those sacrifices of the gentiles, if they are performed, are punished. For just as it is said that these things could not have happened unless they had pleased God, and so must be thought good because they please the Just One, so it can be said that they could not have been forbidden, overthrown, and punished unless they displeased God. And accordingly, if they were rightly done then because they were shown to please the just God by the fact that he allowed them to happen, then they are now being done wickedly, because they are shown to displease God by the fact that he either commands or permits them to be overthrown.' ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 3 (CSEL 41:600–601; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-3). ## On the Divination of Demons 4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-4 - Source: CSEL 41:601 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine replies that if permission proved goodness, the permitted overthrow of the rites would have to be good as well. ### Latin text Contra hoc dictum est iniusta quidem esse nunc ista, non tamen mala, et ideo iniusta, quia contra leges, quibus prohibentur, fiunt, ideo autem non mala, quia, si mala essent, numquam deo utique placuissent; porro si numquam placuissent, numquam facta essent illo non sinente, qui omnia potest et qui talia non contemneret, quando tam magna sunt, ut contra ipsam religionem, qua deus colitur, fierent, si male fierent. hic ego, si propterea, inquam, mala non sunt, quia deo placere hinc probantur, quod ea fieri sinit omnipotens, quomodo erit bonum, quod fieri prohibentur et euertuntur? si autem hoc bonum non est, quod euertuntur, quae deo placent, hoc fieri non sineret omnipotens, quia et hoc contra religionem fit, qua colitur deus, si ea, quae deo placent, ab hominibus euertuntur. si autem hoc, cum male fiat, permittit omnipotens, non ideo putanda sunt illa bona, quod ea fieri permisit omnipotens. ### English translation (Claude) Against this it was said that these things are indeed unjust now, yet not evil: unjust because they are done against the laws that forbid them, but not evil because, if they were evil, they would certainly never have pleased God; and if they had never pleased him, they would never have been done, since he would not have allowed it, he who is able to do all things and who would not disregard such things, being so great, if they were wrongly done, since they would be done against the very religion by which God is worshiped. Here I said, 'If they are not evil because they are proved to please God by the fact that the Almighty allows them to happen, how will it be good that they are forbidden to be done and are overthrown? But if it is not good that things which please God are overthrown, the Almighty would not allow this to happen, because this too is done against the religion by which God is worshiped, if things that please God are overthrown by men. But if the Almighty permits this, though it is wrongly done, then those things are not to be thought good because the Almighty permitted them to be done.' ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 4 (CSEL 41:601; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-4). ## On the Divination of Demons 5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-5 - Source: CSEL 41:601–603 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Even the pagans' pontifical books forbid some rites as displeasing to God, so God can disapprove of what he nevertheless permits. ### Latin text Dictum contra est concedendum esse nunc ista recte non fieri, immo ideo prorsus iam non fieri, quod omnipotenti nunc displicent, uerumtamen placuisse, cum fierent; nos enim nescire, unde tunc placuerint, nunc autem unde displiceant, dum tamen certum sit nec tunc fieri potuisse, nisi placuissent omnipotenti. nec nunc cessasse, nisi displicuissent omnipotenti. ad hoc ego, cur ergo, inquam, et nunc talia clanculo fiunt, quae uel perpetuo delitiscunt uel deprehensa puniuntur, si nihil horum fieri sinit omnipotens, nisi quod ei iusto placet, cum iusto quod iniustum est placere non possit? contra hoc dictum est nunc omnino talia non fieri. sacra enim illa, inquit, non fiunt, quae pontificalibus conscripta sunt libris; ea quippe tunc recte fiebant, ea tunc deo placere demonstrabantur eo ipso, quod ab omnipotente ac iusto fieri sinebantur; si quid autem nunc prohibitorum sacrificiorum fit occulte atque inlicite, non est illi pontificali sacrificiorum generi conparandum, sed in eodem deputandum, quod etiam nocturno fit tempore, cum haec omnia inlicita ipsis pontificalibus libris certum sit prohiberi atque damnari. hic respondi: cur ergo uel talia permittit deus fieri, si nihil eorum malefactorum contemnit, quae contra religionem fiunt, cum praesertim haec eum curare hinc etiam cogantur concedere, qui pontificales libros magni aestimant, quod ea, quae his libris prohibentur. utique diuinitus prohiberi asserunt? quomodo ergo diuinitus prohibentur, nisi quia displicent deo, quae utique prohibendo non solum sibi displicere, uerum etiam curare se ostendit neque omnino contemnere? unde colligitur, quod deus aliquid et improbet iustus et tamen permittat omnipotens. ### English translation (Claude) It was said in reply that it must be granted that these things are now not rightly done, indeed that they are now no longer done at all, because they now displease the Almighty; yet that they pleased him when they were done, for we do not know why they pleased him then or why they displease him now, provided only that it is certain that they could not have been done then unless they had pleased the Almighty, nor have ceased now unless they had displeased the Almighty. To this I said, 'Why then are such things still done secretly now, which either stay hidden forever or are punished when detected, if the Almighty allows none of these things to happen except what pleases him, the Just One, since what is unjust cannot please the Just One?' Against this it was said that such things are not done at all now: 'For those rites,' he said, 'are not performed which are written in the pontifical books. Those were rightly done then; those were shown to please God by the very fact that they were allowed to happen by the almighty and just One. But if anything of the forbidden sacrifices is done now secretly and unlawfully, it is not to be compared with that pontifical kind of sacrifices, but is to be reckoned in the same class as what is done even at night, since it is certain that all these unlawful things are forbidden and condemned by the pontifical books themselves.' Here I answered, 'Why then does God permit even such things to be done, if he disregards none of those evil deeds that are done against religion, especially since even those who think highly of the pontifical books are compelled by this to grant that he concerns himself with them, because they assert that the things forbidden in those books are certainly forbidden by God? How then are they forbidden by God, unless because they displease God, who by forbidding them shows not only that they displease him but also that he concerns himself with them and does not disregard them at all? From which it follows that God, being just, both disapproves of something and yet, being almighty, permits it.' ### Translation notes - The 'pontifical books' are the ritual books of the Roman priestly colleges. 'Done at night' refers to nocturnal (magical) rites, forbidden by Roman law. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 5 (CSEL 41:601–603; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-5). ## On the Divination of Demons 6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-6 - Source: CSEL 41:603 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The remaining question, whether divinations are so great that they must come from God, is deferred and answered in writing. ### Latin text Haec cum dicta essent, concessum est non ideo putandum aliquid iuste ac bene fieri, quia id deus, cum haec prohibenda curet, fieri tamen sinit, fatendumque esse etiam illa mala, quae contra religionem, qua deus colitur, fiunt, et displicere deo iusto et ratione iudicii eius ab omnipotente permitti; sed aliud iam esse tractandum, unde sint diuinationes uel daemonum uel quilibet illi sint, quos deos pagani uocant; uidendum enim esse, ne forte non quidem propterea haec bona putanda sint, quia ea fieri permittit omnipotens, sed ideo, quia tam magna sunt, ut nonnisi dei potentiae, tribuenda esse uideantur. ad hoc me postea responsurum esse promisi, quoniam tunc hora prodeundi ad populum iam nos urguebat, nec distuli, cum spatium datum est scribendo, et illa retexere et ista subtexere. ### English translation (Claude) When these things had been said, it was granted that something is not to be thought justly and well done because God, although he takes care that such things be forbidden, nevertheless allows it to happen; and it was admitted that those evil things too that are done against the religion by which God is worshiped both displease the just God and are permitted by the Almighty by the reason of his judgment. But, it was said, another question must now be treated: where the divinations come from, whether of demons or of whatever those beings are whom the pagans call gods. For we must see whether perhaps these things are to be thought good, not indeed because the Almighty permits them to happen, but because they are so great that they seem attributable only to the power of God. I promised to answer this later, since the hour for going out to the people was then pressing us; and when time was given for writing, I did not put off both going back over those things and adding these. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 6 (CSEL 41:603; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-6). ## On the Divination of Demons 7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-7 - Source: CSEL 41:603–606 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Demons have keener perception, greater speed, and longer experience than men because of their airy bodies, but such advantages do not make them better than good men, any more than keen-scented dogs or experienced but wicked old men are. ### Latin text Daemonum eam esse naturam, ut aerii corporis sensu terrenorum corporum sensum facile praecedant, celeritate etiam propter eiusdem aerii corporis superiorem mobilitatem non solum cursus quorumlibet hominum uel ferarum, uerum etiam uolatus auium inconparabiliter uincant. quibus duabus rebus, quantum ad aerium corpus attinet, praediti, hoc est acrimonia sensus et celeritate motus, multo ante cognita praenuntiant uel nuntiant, quae homines pro sensus terreni tarditate mirentur. accessit etiam daemonibus per tam longum tempus. quo eorum uita protenditur, rerum longe maior experientia, quam potest hominibus propter breuitatem uitae prouenire. per has efficacias, quas aerii corporis natura sortita est, non solum multa futura praedicunt daemones, uerum etiam multa mira faciunt. quae quoniam homines dicere ac facere non possunt, eos dignos quidam, quibus seruiant et quibus diuinos honores deferant, arbitrantur instigante maxime uitio curiositatis propter amorem felicitatis falsae atque terrenae excellentiae temporalis. qui autem se ab his cupiditatibus mundant nec eis se ferendos rapiendosque permittunt, sed inquirunt et amant aliquid, quod eodem modo semper est, cuius participatione beati sint, primum considerant non ideo sibi praeponendos esse daemones, quod acriore sensu corporis praeualent. aerii scilicet, hoc est subtilioris elementi, quia nec in ipsis terrenis corporibus bestias sibi praeponendas putant, quae acrius multa praesentiunt; uelut sagacem canem, quia latentem feram olfactu acerrimo sic inuenit, ut ad eam capiendam ducatum quendam homini praebeat, non utique prudentiore intellectu animi, sed acutiore corporis sensu; uel uulturem. quia proiecto cadauere ex inprouisa longinquitate aduolat: nec aquilam, quia sublimiter uolans de tanto interuallo natantem sub fluctibus piscem dicitur peruidere et grauiter aquis inlisa exertis pedibus atque unguibus rapere; nec alia multa animantium genera, quae inter herbas saluti suae noxias pascendo circumerrant nec aliquid earum, quo laedantur, adtingunt, cum eas homo uix experiendo cauere didicerit et multa innoxia, quod sint inexperta, formidet. unde conicere facile est, quanto possit in aeriis corporibus sensus esse acrior. nec ideo tamen daemones, qui eo praediti sunt, bonis hominibus praeponendos prudens quisque censuerit. hoc et de corporum celeritate dixerim. et hac enim praestantia non solum a uolucribus homines, uerum etiam a multis quadrupedibus ita superantur, ut in eorum conparatione plumbei deputandi sint; nec tamen ideo sibi haec animantium genera existimant praeponenda, quibus capiendis, mansuefaciendis atque in suae uoluntatis usum commodumque redigendis non ui corporis, sed rationis imperant. Illam uero tertiam daemonum potentiam, quod diuturna rerum experientia quemadmodum praenoscant atque praenuntient multa didicerunt, ita contemnunt, qui haec uigilanter curant a uerissimae lucis ueritate discernere, ut nec malos senes plura expertos et ob hoc quasi doctiores ideo probi adulescentes sibi antecellere existiment nec medicos nec nautas nec agricolas, quos prauae uoluntatis et iniquis moribus uiderint, ideo putent sibi esse praeferendos, quod illi de ualitudinibus, illi de tempestatibus, illi de arbustorum fructuumque generibus multa ita praenuntiant, ut harum rerum inexperto diuinare uideantur. ### English translation (Claude) The nature of demons is such that, by the perception of their airy body, they easily surpass the perception of earthly bodies, and in speed too, because of the superior mobility of that same airy body, they incomparably outdo not only the running of any men or beasts but even the flight of birds. Endowed with these two things, so far as the airy body is concerned, namely keenness of perception and speed of movement, they foretell or announce things known long before, which men wonder at because of the slowness of earthly perception. The demons also have, over the very long time that their life extends, a far greater experience of things than can come to men because of the shortness of their life. Through these powers, which the nature of an airy body has received as its lot, the demons not only foretell many future things but also do many wonderful things. Since men cannot say and do these things, some think them worthy to be served and to be given divine honors, prompted above all by the vice of curiosity, from love of a false happiness and of earthly, temporal eminence. But those who cleanse themselves of these desires and do not allow themselves to be carried off and swept away by them, but seek and love something that is always the same, by participation in which they may be happy, consider first that demons are not to be set above them because they excel in a keener bodily perception, that is, of an airy and more subtle element; for not even among earthly bodies do they think that beasts are to be set above them, which perceive many things beforehand more keenly: for example the keen-scented dog, because by its very sharp sense of smell it finds a hidden wild animal in such a way as to give a man a kind of guidance for catching it, not certainly by a more prudent understanding of mind but by a sharper bodily sense; or the vulture, because it flies to a carcass thrown out from an unforeseen distance; nor the eagle, because, flying on high, it is said to see from so great a distance a fish swimming beneath the waves, and dashing heavily into the water, to seize it with outstretched feet and talons; nor many other kinds of living creatures, which roam about grazing among plants harmful to their health and touch none of them that could hurt them, while man has barely learned to avoid them by experience, and fears many harmless ones because they are untried. From this it is easy to conjecture how much keener perception can be in airy bodies. Yet no prudent person would therefore judge that the demons endowed with it are to be set above good men. I would say this also of bodily speed. For in this advantage too men are surpassed not only by birds but also by many four-footed animals, so that in comparison with them they must be reckoned as made of lead; and yet they do not think that these kinds of animals are to be set above themselves, since they rule them, to catch them, tame them, and bring them to the use and convenience of their own will, not by strength of body but by reason. As for that third power of the demons, that through long experience of things they have learned how to know and announce many things beforehand, those who take care vigilantly to distinguish these things from the truth of the truest light despise it so much that upright young men do not think that wicked old men, who have more experience and are therefore, as it were, more learned, excel them on that account; nor do they think that physicians or sailors or farmers whom they see to be of a perverse will and wicked character are to be preferred to themselves because some of them foretell so much about states of health, others about storms, others about kinds of trees and crops, that to someone without experience of these things they seem to divine. ### Translation notes - Augustine's account of the 'airy body' of demons draws on Platonist demonology; see also City of God 8–9. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 7 (CSEL 41:603–606; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-7). ## On the Divination of Demons 8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-8 - Source: CSEL 41:606–607 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The wonders demons perform no more prove their goodness than the feats of acrobats and engineers prove theirs. ### Latin text Quod uero non solum quaedam daemones futura praedicunt, uerum etiam quaedam mira faciunt, pro ipsa utique sui corporis excellentia, cur non contemnatur a prudentibus, cum plerique iniqui ac perditi homines ita exerceant corpora sua tantaque diuersis artibus possint, ut ea qui haec nesciunt nec aliquando uiderunt, etiam narrata ut credant? quam multa funiambuli ceterique theatrici artifices, quam multa opifices maximeque mechanici miranda fecerunt? num ideo meliores sunt bonis et sancta pietate praeditis hominibus? quae ideo commemoraui, ut qui haec sine peruicacia et sine uana resistendi animositate considerat, simul cogitet, si de subiacenti crassiore materia uel sui quisque corporis uel terrae et aquae, lapidum atque lignorum metallorumque uariorum tanta quidam homines possunt, ut eos illi, qui haec non possunt, plerumque stupendo in sui comparatione diuinos uocent, cum quidam illorum sint artibus potentiores, quidam istorum moribus meliores. quanto maiora et mirabiliora pro subtilissimi corporis, hoc est aerii facultate ac facilitate daemones possint, cum tamen sint prauitate uoluntatis maximeque superbiae fastu et inuidentiae malitia spiritus inmundi atque peruersi! quantum autem ualeat aeris elementum, quo eorum corpora praeualent, ad multa uisibilia inuisibiliter molienda, mouenda, mutanda atque uersanda longum est nunc demonstrare et puto quod uel mediocriter consideranti facile occurrat. ### English translation (Claude) As for the fact that demons not only foretell some future things but also do some wonderful things, by reason of the excellence of their body, why should prudent people not despise this, since many wicked and depraved men so train their bodies and can do so much by various arts that those who do not know these things and have never seen them hardly believe them even when told? How many amazing things have tightrope walkers and other theatrical performers done, how many craftsmen, and above all engineers? Are they therefore better than good men endowed with holy piety? I have mentioned these things so that whoever considers them without obstinacy and without the vain spirit of opposition may at the same time reflect: if some men can do so much with the coarser matter beneath them, whether of their own bodies or of earth and water, stones and wood, and various metals, that those who cannot do such things, stupefied by comparison with themselves, often call them divine, although some of the former are more powerful in skills and some of the latter better in character, how much greater and more wonderful things can the demons do by the power and ease of a most subtle body, that is, an airy one, though they are unclean and perverse spirits in the depravity of their will and above all in the haughtiness of pride and the malice of envy! How great is the power of the element of air, in which their bodies excel, for invisibly contriving, moving, changing, and turning many visible things, would take long to demonstrate now, and I think it readily occurs even to someone who considers it only moderately. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 8 (CSEL 41:606–607; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-8). ## On the Divination of Demons 9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-9 - Source: CSEL 41:607–608 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Demons mostly foretell what they themselves intend to do, or what they read from natural signs or from bodily signs of human thoughts. ### Latin text Quae cum ita sint, primum sciendum est, quoniam de diuinatione daemonum quaestio est, illos ea plerumque praenuntiare, quae ipsi facturi sunt. accipiunt enim saepe potestatem et morbos inmittere et ipsum aerem uitiando morbidum reddere et peruersis atque amatoribus terrenorum commodorum malefacta suadere, de quorum moribus certi sunt, quod sint eis talia suadentibus consensuri. suadent autem miris et inuisibilibus modis per illam subtilitatem corporum suorum corpora hominum non sentientium penetrando et se cogitationibus eorum per quaedam imaginaria uisa miscendo, siue uigilantium siue dormientium. aliquando autem non quae ipsi faciunt, sed quae naturalibus signis futura praenoscunt, quae signa in hominum sensus uenire non possunt, ante praedicunt. neque enim quia praeuidet medicus, quod non praeuidet eius artis ignarus, ideo iam diuinus habendus est. quid autem mirum, si quemadmodum ille in corporis humani uel perturbata uel modificata temperie seu bonas seu malas futuras praeuidet ualitudines, sic daemon in aeris affectione atque ordinatione sibi nota, nobis ignota futuras praeuidet tempestates? aliquando et hominum dispositiones non solum uoce prolatas, uerum etiam cogitatione conceptas, cum signa quaedam ex animo exprimuntur in corpore, tota facilitate perdiscunt atque hinc etiam multa futura praenuntiant, aliis uidelicet mira, qui ista disposita non nouerunt. sicut enim adparet concitatior animi motus in uultu, ut ab hominibus quoque aliquid forinsecus agnoscatur, quod intrinsecus agitur, ita non debet esse incredibile, si etiam leniores cogitationes dant aliqua signa per corpus, quae obtuso sensu hominum cognosci non possunt, acuto autem daemonum possunt. ### English translation (Claude) Since this is so, it must first be understood, since the question is about the divination of demons, that for the most part they foretell what they themselves are going to do. For they often receive power both to send diseases and to make the very air unhealthy by corrupting it, and to urge evil deeds on the perverse and on lovers of earthly advantages, of whose characters they are sure that they will consent when they urge such things. And they urge them in wonderful and invisible ways, by penetrating through the subtlety of their bodies the bodies of men who do not perceive it, and by mingling themselves with their thoughts through certain imaginary visions, whether they are awake or asleep. Sometimes, however, they foretell not what they themselves do, but what they know beforehand will happen through natural signs, signs that cannot reach the senses of men. For a physician is not to be thought divine just because he foresees what someone ignorant of his art does not foresee. And what wonder is it if, just as he foresees good or bad future health in the disturbed or well-balanced temperament of the human body, so a demon, in the condition and disposition of the air known to him and unknown to us, foresees future storms? Sometimes, too, they learn with complete ease the intentions of men, not only those uttered by voice but also those conceived in thought, when certain signs are expressed from the mind in the body; and from this they also foretell many future things, wonderful, that is, to others who did not know of those intentions. For just as a more agitated movement of the mind appears in the face, so that even men can recognize outwardly something that is going on inwardly, so it should not be incredible if even gentler thoughts give some signs through the body, which cannot be recognized by the dull senses of men but can by the sharp senses of demons. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 9 (CSEL 41:607–608; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-9). ## On the Divination of Demons 10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-10 - Source: CSEL 41:608–610 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Demons repeat true prophecy only when they overhear it; otherwise they are often wrong, because God's angels change what they foresaw, and they also lie deliberately. ### Latin text Hac atque huius modi facultate multa daemones futura praenuntiant, cum tamen ab eis longe sit altitudo illius prophetiae, quam deus per sanctos angelos et prophetas operatur. nam si quid de illa dei dispositione praenuntiant, audiunt. ut praenuntient; et cum ea praedicunt, quae inde audiunt, non fallunt neque falluntur; ueracissima enim sunt angelica et prophetica oracula. sic autem indignanter accipitur, quod aliqua etiam talia daemones audiant et praedicant, quasi aliquid indignum sit, ut quod ideo dicitur, ut hominibus innotescat, hoc non solum boni, uerum etiam mali non taceant. cum in ipsis hominibus etiam uitae bonae praecepta uideamus pariter a iustis peruersisque cantari, non obesse aliquid, immo etiam prodesse ad maiorem notitiam famamque ueritatis, cum de illa etiam hi quidquid nouerunt dicunt, qui ei peruersis moribus contradicunt. in ceteris autem suis praedicationibus daemones plerumque falluntur et fallunt. falluntur quidem, quia, cum suas dispositiones praenuntiant, ex inprouiso desuper aliquid iubetur, quod eorum consilia cuncta perturbet. uelut si aliquid disponant quilibet homines quibusque potestatibus subditi, quod non prohibituros suos praepositos arbitrentur idque facturos se esse promittant, at illi, penes quos maior potestas est, ex alio superiore consilio hoc totum dispositum atque praeparatum repente prohibeant. falluntur etiam in causis naturalibus — sicut medici et nautae et agricolae, sed longe acutius longeque praestantius pro aerii corporis sensu sollertiore et exercitatiore praenoscunt — quia et haec ab angelis deo summo pie seruientibus ex alia dispositione ignota daemonibus ex inprouiso ac repente mutantur. tamquam si aliquid aegro extrinsecus accidat, quo moriatur, quem medicus ueris salutis praecedentibus signis uicturum esse promiserat; aut si aeris qualitate praeuisa diu flaturum illum uentum nautarum aliqui praedixissent, cui dominus Christus cum discipulis nauigans, ut quiesceret, imperauit, et facta est tranquillitas magna; uel si agricola illo anno fructificaturam uitem aliquam polliceatur, naturam utique terrae et numerum seminum callens, quo tamen anno eam uel inprouisa caeli intemperies arefaciat uel aliqua iussio potentioris eradicet: ita multa etiam ad praescientiam praedictionemque daemonum pertinentia, quae minoribus et usitatioribus causis futura praeuidentur, eadem maioribus et occultioribus causis inpedita mutantur. fallunt autem etiam studio fallendi et inuida uoluntate, qua hominum errore laetantur. sed ne apud cultores suos pondus auctoritatis amittant, id agunt, ut interpretibus suis signorumque suorum coniectoribus culpa tribuatur, quando uel decepti fuerint uel mentiti. ### English translation (Claude) By this and similar ability the demons foretell many future things, and yet the height of that prophecy which God works through holy angels and prophets is far from them. For if these foretell anything of that plan of God, they hear it in order to foretell it; and when they predict the things they hear from that source, they neither deceive nor are deceived, for the oracles of angels and prophets are most true. But people take it with indignation that demons too hear some such things and predict them, as if it were something unworthy that what is said in order to become known to men should not be kept silent by the wicked as well as the good, when among men themselves we see the precepts of a good life recited alike by the just and the perverse, and this does no harm but even helps toward a greater knowledge and fame of the truth, when even those who contradict it by their perverse lives say whatever they know about it. But in their other predictions the demons are for the most part both deceived and deceiving. They are deceived because, when they announce their own plans, something is suddenly commanded from above that throws all their counsels into confusion; just as if some men subject to certain authorities were to plan something that they think their superiors will not forbid, and were to promise that they will do it, but those in whose hands the greater power lies, from another, higher counsel, suddenly forbid the whole thing that had been planned and prepared. They are also deceived in natural causes, which they know beforehand as physicians, sailors, and farmers do, but far more sharply and far more excellently by the more skilful and practiced perception of an airy body, because these too are suddenly and unexpectedly changed by the angels who serve the supreme God piously, according to another plan unknown to the demons. It is as if something befell a sick man from outside by which he died, though the physician, from true preceding signs of health, had promised that he would live; or as if some sailors, having foreseen the quality of the air, had predicted that the wind would blow for a long time which the Lord Christ, sailing with his disciples, commanded to be still, 'and there was a great calm'; or as if a farmer, well acquainted with the nature of the soil and the number of the buds, were to promise that some vine would bear fruit that year, and yet in that year either unforeseen bad weather dried it up or some command of a more powerful person had it uprooted. So also many things belonging to the foreknowledge and prediction of demons, which are foreseen as future from lesser and more usual causes, are hindered by greater and more hidden causes and changed. They also deceive from a desire to deceive and from an envious will, by which they rejoice in the error of men. But so as not to lose the weight of their authority among their worshipers, they contrive that the blame is put on their interpreters and on the diviners of their signs, whenever they have been deceived or have lied. ### Scripture references - Matt 8:26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'There was a great calm': Matt 8:26 (compare Mark 4:39). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 10 (CSEL 41:608–610; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-10). ## On the Divination of Demons 11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-11 - Source: CSEL 41:610–613 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The demon of Serapis foretold the Serapeum's fall only when it was already imminent, after long silence about what the prophets had foretold centuries before. ### Latin text Quid ergo mirum, si iam inminente templorum et simulacrorum euersione, quam prophetae dei summi tanto ante praedixerant, Serapis daemon alicui cultorum suorum hoc de proximo prodidit, ut suam quasi diuinitatem recedens uel fugiens commendaret? Fugantur enim isti uel etiam iussis superioribus conligati abstrahuntur et alienantur a locis suis, ut de rebus, quibus dominabantur quibusque colebantur, fiat uoluntas dei, qui hoc tanto ante per omnes gentes futurum esse praedixit et, ut per suos fideles fieret, imperauit. cur autem hoc non sineretur daemon praedicere. cum sibi iam praenosceret inminere, cum haec praedictio et prophetis adtestaretur, a quibus sunt ista conscripta, et prudentibus daretur intellegi, quam uigilanter esset daemonum cauenda fallacia cultusque fugiendus? qui cum ante per tam longum tempus in templis suis haec futura tacuissent, quae per prophetas praedicta ignorare non possent, posteaquam adpropinquare coeperunt, uoluerunt ea quasi praedicere, ne ignari uictique putarentur. cum igitur tam longe ante praedictum esset atque conscriptum, ut alia interim taceam, illud, quod Sophonias propheta dicit: praeualebit dominus aduersus eos et exterminabit omnes deos gentium terrae, et adorabunt eum unusquisque de loco suo, omnes insulae gentium, aut non credebant ista sibi euentura, qui in templis gentium colebantur, et haec ideo per suos uates ac fanaticos frequentare noluerunt — sicut eorum poeta Iunonem inducit non omni modo credentem, quae de Turni morte Iuppiter dixerat: Iuno autem ab istis potestas aeria praedicatur, quae apud Virgilium sic loquitur: nunc manet insontem grauis exitus, aut ego ueri uana feror. quod ut o potius formidine falsa ludar et in Melius tua, qui potes, orsa reflectas! — aut ergo ista sibi, quae per prophetas praedicta nouerant, posse accidere daemones, hoc est potestates aeriae, dubitabant et propterea praedicationem eorum celebrare noluerunt — et hinc intellegendum est quales sint — aut, cum ea uentura certissime scirent, ideo per sua templa tacuerunt, ne iam tunc inciperent ab hominibus intellegentibus deseri atque contemni, quod de templorum et simulacrorum suorum futura euersione eis prophetis adtestarentur, qui eos coli prohibebant. nunc uero, posteaquam tempus aduenit, quo conplerentur uaticinia prophetarum dei unius, qui istos falsos deos dicit et, ne colantur, uehementissime praecipit, cur non hoc etiam ipsi completum praedicere sinerentur, unde clarius adpareret eos haec antea uel minime credidisse uel suis cultoribus enuntiare timuisse, in fine autem, tamquam nihil amplius habentes quod agerent, etiam ibi uoluisse suam ostendere diuinationem, ubi iam produntur diu simulasse diuinitatem? ### English translation (Claude) What wonder, then, if, when the overthrow of the temples and images which the prophets of the supreme God had foretold so long before was already imminent, the demon Serapis disclosed this to one of his worshipers shortly beforehand, so as to commend his supposed divinity as he withdrew or fled? For these beings are put to flight, or even bound by commands from above and dragged away and removed from their places, so that concerning the things over which they ruled and by which they were worshiped the will of God may be done, who foretold so long before that this would happen among all nations and commanded that it be done by his faithful. And why should the demon not be allowed to predict this, when he already knew beforehand that it was hanging over him, since this prediction would both bear witness to the prophets by whom these things were written, and would give the prudent to understand how vigilantly the deceit of demons is to be guarded against and their worship shunned? Having kept silent in their temples for so long a time about these future things, which they could not have been ignorant of since they had been foretold through the prophets, once they began to draw near, they wished to seem to predict them, so as not to be thought ignorant and defeated. Since, then, it had been foretold and written so long before (to say nothing of other passages) what the prophet Zephaniah says, 'The Lord will prevail against them and will destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and they will worship him, each from his own place, all the islands of the nations,' either those who were worshiped in the temples of the nations did not believe that these things would happen to them, and therefore were unwilling to repeat them through their seers and inspired devotees (just as their poet brings in Juno not wholly believing what Jupiter had said about the death of Turnus; and Juno is proclaimed by these people to be a power of the air, and she speaks thus in Virgil: 'Now a grievous end awaits the guiltless, or I am borne along, empty of the truth. O that I might rather be mocked by a false fear, and that you, who can, would turn your purposes to something better!'); either, then, the demons, that is, the powers of the air, doubted that these things which they knew had been foretold through the prophets could happen to them, and for that reason were unwilling to proclaim their prediction (and from this it must be understood what sort of beings they are); or, knowing most certainly that these things would come, they kept silent in their temples for this reason, so that they might not already then begin to be deserted and despised by men of understanding, because concerning the future overthrow of their temples and images they would be bearing witness to those prophets who forbade that they be worshiped. But now, after the time has come in which the prophecies of the prophets of the one God were to be fulfilled, who calls these beings false gods and most vehemently commands that they not be worshiped, why should they not be allowed to predict this themselves when it was being fulfilled, so that it might appear more clearly that previously they had either not believed it at all or had been afraid to announce it to their worshipers, but that at the end, as if having nothing more to do, they wished to show their divination even at the point where it is now revealed that they had long feigned divinity? ### Scripture references - Zeph 2:11: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Virgil, Aen. 10.630–632 (Virgil): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation is Zeph 2:11 in Augustine's Latin version. The Virgil quotation is Aeneid 10.630–632 (Juno speaking of Turnus). Augustine identifies Juno as a 'power of the air' in the pagans' own interpretation (compare City of God 4.10). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 11 (CSEL 41:610–613; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-11). ## On the Divination of Demons 12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-12 - Source: CSEL 41:613–614 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagan claims of earlier predictions are probably invented after the event, and no pagan god ever dared to speak against the God of Israel, who foretold and brought about their overthrow. ### Latin text Quod autem dicunt reliqui eorum cultores etiam suorum quibusdam libris haec praecognita contineri, quamquam ex rebus inpletis conficta putanda sint, quae in eorum templis tam longo antea tempore populis eorum, si uera essent, innotescere debuerunt, sicut nostra non solum in ecclesiis nostris, uerum etiam — quod ad grauius testimonium contra omnes inimicos ualet — in iudaeorum synagogis antiquissima et notissima recitantur: tamen nec ipsa ista, quae ab eis uix raro et clanculo proferuntur, mouere nos debent, si cuiquam daemonum extortum est id prodere cultoribus suis, quod didicerat ex eloquiis prophetarum uel ex oraculis angelorum, quod cur non fieret, cum et ista non sit oppugnatio, sed adtestatio ueritatis? illud enim, quod solum ab eis flagitandum est, nec umquam antea protulerunt nec umquam postea nisi forte confictum proferre conabuntur, aliquid deos suos per uates suos contra deum Israhel ausos fuisse praedicere aut dicere. de quo deo doctissimi eorum auctores, qui omnia illa legere ac nosse potuerunt, magis quaesierunt, quis deus esset quam deum negare potuerunt. porro autem deus iste, quem nullus eorum negare ausus est uerum deum, qui et si negaret, non solum subiaceret debitis poenis, uerum etiam certis conuinceretur effectis: iste ergo deus, quem nemo, ut dixi, illorum negare ausus est uerum deum, illos falsos esse deos et omnino deserendos eorumque templa et simulacra euertenda per suos uates, hoc est prophetas, aperta denuntiatione praedixit, aperta potestate praecepit, aperta ueritate conpleuit. unde quis usque adeo desipiat, qui non eum potius colendum eligat, quem coli non prohibent, quos colebat? quem procul dubio cum colere coeperit, illos utique non est culturas, quos prohibet coli quem colit. ### English translation (Claude) As for what their remaining worshipers say, that these things were known beforehand and are contained in certain books of their own: although this must be thought to have been invented after the events were fulfilled, since if it were true it ought to have become known to their peoples in their temples so long before, just as our writings, very ancient and very well known, are read aloud not only in our churches but also (which counts as the weightier testimony against all our enemies) in the synagogues of the Jews: nevertheless, not even these things, which they produce rarely and secretly, ought to move us, if one of the demons was forced to disclose to his worshipers what he had learned from the utterances of the prophets or the oracles of the angels. And why should that not happen, since it is not an attack on the truth but a testimony to it? For the one thing that must be demanded of them, they have never produced before and will never produce afterward, unless perhaps they try to produce something invented: namely, that their gods through their seers dared to predict or to say anything against the God of Israel. About this God their most learned authors, who were able to read and know all those things, inquired rather who this God was than were able to deny that he was God. And furthermore this God, whom none of them dared to deny to be the true God (and whoever denied it would not only be liable to the penalties due, but would also be refuted by sure results), this God, I say, whom none of them, as I said, dared to deny to be the true God, foretold by open announcement through his seers, that is, the prophets, commanded by open power, and fulfilled by open truth that those gods are false and must be wholly forsaken and their temples and images overthrown. Who then is so senseless as not to choose rather to worship him whom the gods he used to worship do not forbid to be worshiped? And once he has begun to worship him, he will certainly not worship those whom the God he worships forbids to be worshiped. ### Translation notes - On pagan authors inquiring 'who this God was', compare Augustine, Consensus of the Evangelists 1.22–23 (Varro on the God of the Jews). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 12 (CSEL 41:613–614; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-12). ## On the Divination of Demons 13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-13 - Source: CSEL 41:614–616 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Zephaniah and the Psalms foretold that through Christ all nations would turn from their gods to the God of Israel, after first opposing the church. ### Latin text Quod autem ipsum essent culturae gentes exterminatis diis falsis, quos antea colebant, a prophetis eius esse praedictum paulo ante commemoraui et nunc repeto. praeualebit, inquit, dominus aduersus eos et exterminabit omnes deos gentium terrae, et adorabunt eum unusquisque de loco suo, omnes insulae gentium. neque solae insulae, sed ita omnes gentes, ut etiam omnes insulae gentium, quandoquidem alibi non insulas nominat, sed uniuersum orbem terrarum dicens: commemorabuntur et conuertentur ad dominum uniuersi fines terrae, et adorabunt in conspectu eius uniuersae patriae gentium, quoniam domini est regnum, et ipse dominabitur gentium. haec autem per Christum fuisse conplenda et aliis pluribus testimoniis et in eodem ipso psalmo, unde hoc commemoraui, satis adparet. cum enim paulo superius futuram passionem suam per prophetam ipse loqueretur dicens: foderunt manus meas et pedes meos, dinumerauerunt omnia ossa mea; ipsi uero considerauerunt et conspexerunt me. diuiserunt sibi uestimenta mea, et super uestimentum meum miserunt sortem, paulo post infert illud, quod posui: commemorabuntur et conuertentur ad dominum uniuersi fines terrae et cetera. quamquam et illud testimonium, quod prius adhibui, ubi dictum est: praeualebit dominus aduersus eos, et exterminabit omnes deos gentium terrae, in eo, quod positum est praeualebit, satis ostenditur etiam hoc praenuntiatum, quod pagani prius oppugnaturi essent ecclesiam nomenque christianum, quantum ualerent, persecuturi, ut, si fieri posset, de terra omnino deleretur. et quia eos patientia martyrum et magnitudine miraculorum et consequente fide populorum erat superaturus, ideo sic dictum est: praeualebit dominus aduersus eos. non enim diceretur: praeualebit aduersus eos, nisi oppugnando illi resisterent. unde et in psalmo ita prophetatum est: ut quid fremuerunt gentes, et populi meditati sunt inania? adstiterunt reges terrae, et principes conuenerunt in unum aduersus dominum et aduersus Christum eius. et paulo post dicit: dominus dixit ad me: filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te; postula a me, et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam et possessionem tuam terminos terrae. ecce unde dictum est et in alio psalmo, quod superius interposui: commemorabuntur et conuertentur ad dominum uniuersi fines terrae. his atque huius modi propheticis documentis praedictum ostenditur, quod uidemus inpleri per Christum, futurum fuisse, ut deus Israhel, quem unum uerum deum intellegimus, non in una ipsa gente, quae appellata est Israhel, sed in omnibus gentibus coleretur et omnes falsos deos gentium et a templis eorum et a cordibus cultorum suorum amoliretur. ### English translation (Claude) That the nations would worship him once the false gods they formerly worshiped had been destroyed was foretold by his prophets, as I mentioned a little earlier, and now I repeat it: 'The Lord,' he says, 'will prevail against them and will destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and they will worship him, each from his own place, all the islands of the nations.' Not the islands only, but all the nations, so that even all the islands of the nations are included, since elsewhere he names not the islands but the whole world, saying: 'All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before him, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he will rule over the nations.' That these things were to be fulfilled through Christ is clear enough both from many other testimonies and in that very psalm from which I quoted this. For when a little earlier he himself was speaking through the prophet of his future passion, saying: 'They pierced my hands and my feet; they counted all my bones; but they considered and looked upon me. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots,' a little later he adds what I have quoted: 'All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,' and so on. And yet in the testimony I cited first, where it is said, 'The Lord will prevail against them and will destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth,' in the words 'will prevail' it is shown clearly enough that this too was foretold: that the pagans would first attack the church and persecute the Christian name as much as they could, so that, if possible, it would be wholly blotted out from the earth. And because he was going to overcome them by the patience of the martyrs, the greatness of the miracles, and the faith of the peoples that followed, it was therefore said: 'The Lord will prevail against them.' For it would not be said, 'He will prevail against them,' unless they resisted by attacking. Hence it is also prophesied in the psalm thus: 'Why did the nations rage, and the peoples plot vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.' And a little later he says: 'The Lord said to me: You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession.' See, this is why it is also said in the other psalm, which I quoted above: 'All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord.' By these and similar prophetic proofs it is shown to have been foretold, what we see fulfilled through Christ, that the God of Israel, whom we understand to be the one true God, would be worshiped not in that one nation called Israel only, but in all nations, and would remove all the false gods of the nations both from their temples and from the hearts of their worshipers. ### Scripture references - Zeph 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:27–28 (21:28-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:16–18 (21:17-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:7–8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Zeph 2:11; Ps 22:27–28 (21:28–29 LXX); Ps 22:16–18 (21:17–19 LXX); Ps 2:1–2 and 2:7–8, all in Augustine's Old Latin wording. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 13 (CSEL 41:614–616; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-13). ## On the Divination of Demons 14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-14 - Source: CSEL 41:616–619 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The dwindling pagans who mock Christian foolishness are fulfilling Scripture, which also strengthens believers against their scorn. ### Latin text Eant nunc isti et adhuc contra christianam religionem, contra uerum dei cultum uanitates pristinas defensitare audeant, ut cum strepitu pereant. nam et hoc de illis praedictum est in Psalmis dicente propheta: sedisti super thronum, qui iudicas aequitatem. increpasti gentes, et periit inpius; nomen eorum delesti in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi. inimici defecerunt frameae in finem, et ciuitates eorum destruxisti: periit memoria eorum cum strepitu. et dominus in aeternum manet. necesse est ergo, ut inpleantur haec omnia; nec quod adhuc audent ipsi pauci, qui remanserunt, uaniloquas suas ostentare doctrinas et christianos tamquam inperitissimos inridere, moueri debemus, dum in eis inpleri ea, quae praedicta sunt, uideamus. ipsa quippe uelut inperitiae stultitia christianorum, quae humilibus et sanctis eiusque diligenter studiosis adparet excelsa et sola uera sapientia, ipsa, inquam, uelut stultitia christianorum eos ad istam paucitatem redigit, quoniam, sicut dicit apostolus, stultam fecit deus sapientiam huius mundi. deinde subiungit rem mirabilem, si quis intellegat, et ita sequitur: nam quoniam in dei sapientia non cognouit mundus per sapientiam deum, placuit deo per stultitiam praedicationis saluos facere credentes; quoniam quidem Iudaei signa petunt et Graeci sapientiam quaerunt, nos autem praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Iudaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus autem stultitiam, ipsis uero uocatis, Iudaeis et Graecis, Christum dei uirtutem et dei sapientiam; quoniam quod stultum est dei, sapientius est hominibus, et quod infirmum est dei, fortius est hominibus. inrideant ergo, quantum possunt, tamquam inperitiam et stultitiam nostram et iactent doctrinam et sapientiam suam. illud scio, quod isti inrisores nostri pauciores sunt hoc anno, quam fuerunt priore anno. ex quo enim fremuerunt gentes, et populi meditati sunt inania aduersus dominum et aduersus Christum eius, quando ab eis fundebatur sanguis sanctorum et uastabatur ecclesia, usque ad hoc tempus et deinceps cotidie minuuntur. nos autem aduersus eorum obprobria et superbas inrisiones fortissimos reddunt oracula dei nostri, quae de hac quoque re uidemus et gaudemus inpleri. sic enim loquitur propheta: audite me, qui scitis iudicium, populus meus, in quorum corde lex mea est; obprobrium hominum nolite metuere, et detractatione eorum ne superemini, nec quod uos spernant, magni duxeritis. sicut enim uestimentum ita per tempus absumentur et sicut lana a tinea comedentur, iustitia autem mea in aeternum manet. legant tamen haec nostra, si dignantur. cum ad nos contradictiones eorum peruenerint, quantum dominus adiuuat, respondebimus. ### English translation (Claude) Let these people go now and still dare to defend their ancient vanities against the Christian religion, against the true worship of God, so that they may perish with a crash. For this too was foretold of them in the Psalms, where the prophet says: 'You sat on the throne, you who judge equity. You rebuked the nations, and the ungodly perished; you blotted out their name forever and for ever and ever. The swords of the enemy failed at the end, and you destroyed their cities; their memory perished with a crash. And the Lord remains forever.' All these things, then, must be fulfilled; nor ought we to be moved because the few who remain still dare to parade their vain-speaking doctrines and to mock Christians as utterly unlearned, since we see fulfilled in them the things that were foretold. For that very seeming stupidity of the Christians' lack of learning, which to the humble and holy and to those diligently devoted to it appears as the lofty and only true wisdom, that very seeming stupidity of the Christians, I say, reduces them to their present small number, since, as the apostle says, 'God has made foolish the wisdom of this world.' Then he adds something wonderful, if one understands it, and goes on thus: 'For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe; for Jews ask for signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God; for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.' Let them mock, then, as much as they can, our supposed ignorance and foolishness, and boast of their learning and wisdom. This I know: these mockers of ours are fewer this year than they were last year. For from the time when 'the nations raged and the peoples plotted vain things against the Lord and against his Christ,' when the blood of the saints was being shed by them and the church laid waste, up to this time and from now on they grow fewer every day. But against their reproaches and proud mockery the oracles of our God make us very strong, and we see and rejoice that they are being fulfilled in this matter too. For thus the prophet speaks: 'Hear me, you who know judgment, my people, in whose heart is my law: do not fear the reproach of men, and do not be overcome by their disparagement, nor think it a great thing that they despise you. For like a garment they will be consumed in time, and like wool they will be eaten by the moth; but my righteousness remains forever.' Let them read these writings of ours, however, if they think them worthy. When their objections reach us, we will answer, as far as the Lord helps. ### Scripture references - Ps 9:4–7 (9:5-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:20: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:21–25: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Isa 51:7–8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ps 9:4–7 (9:5–8 LXX); 1 Cor 1:20–25; Ps 2:1–2; Isa 51:7–8. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Div. daem. 14 (CSEL 41:616–619; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-divinatione-daemonum/1/#p-14).